First contestant of this year's Dancing with the Stars revealed
Model and former Miss Universe Ireland Aishah Akorede will take to the dancefloor in the next series of Dancing with the Stars.
Model and former Miss Universe Ireland Aishah Akorede has been revealed as the first celebrity who will take to the dancefloor for the eighth series of Dancing with the Stars.
Aishah was crowned Miss Universe Ireland in 2023 and holds a Master of Laws in International Corporate Governance from Queen's University, Belfast.
Aishah is no stranger to television, appearing in and winning the Discovery+ series, Beauty and the Geek UK alongside her ‘geek’-teammate, Martin in 2022.
She is currently pursuing a qualification in Chartered Governance and will join the cast of Dancing with the Stars when the series returns to RTÉ One and RTÉ Player in January.
“I’m mostly excited about learning how to dance like a ballroom dancer, to be honest. I did a little bit of ballet growing up, but it's nothing compared to any of this... I did ballet from the age of four to 15, but I had to stop,” she said.
“I'm like a footballer that just never got to go professional because of a knee injury. But during the pandemic, I ended up going back to ballet at the age of 24.
I'm 25 now and I'm the old lady in the class, which is crazy to say that a 25-year-old is an old lady.
Aishah said she is not a very competitive person and that she does everything with no expectations and with the aim of just enjoying the experience and whatever comes out of it.
“So, hopefully I do come out on top, but even if I don't, I'll just genuinely be so grateful for the opportunity,” she said.
Dancing with the Stars will be hosted by Jennifer Zamparelli and Doireann Garrihy again this season and two-time Dancing with the Stars winner and professional dancer Karen Byrne will join the judging panel in 2025 alongside judges Loraine Barry, Brian Redmond and Arthur Gourounlian.
The 10 remaining celebrity contestants joining the new series of Dancing with the Stars will be announced each day this week.
